Seafire F.47 PS946 in flight
The Seafire F.47 was essentially the same as the RAF’s Mk 24 Spitfire, and there was no genuine prototype for this version. However, production models PS944 and PS945 were utilized for clearance testing. The Mk 47 was intended to function purely as a fighter, and while PS944 was built accordingly, a percentage of production machines had a vertical and oblique camera installed in the rear fuselage, rendering them FR.47s. Serials PS944-PS957, VP427-VP465, VP471-VP495, and VR961-VR971 comprised the production run, and all of these were constructed at South Marston. The conclusion of the war resulted in the termination of Seafire production at Castle Bromwich and Westland. Between April 1946 and January 1949, Supermarine produced a total of 89 F.47s and FR.47s, with the first 14 fitted with the Griffon 87 and the remaining with the 88.